Revamped Champions League draw delivers blockbuster matchups

Defending champions Real Madrid will face Liverpool away and host Borussia Dortmund in a repeat of last season’s final as part of the league stage of the newly restructured UEFA Champions League, following Thursday’s draw.

In the revamped format, all 36 teams are pooled into a single league instead of being split into groups, each team playing eight games against eight different opponents. Real Madrid, aiming to add to their record 15th European Cup, will host Borussia Dortmund, Milan, Salzburg, and Stuttgart at the Santiago Bernabéu, while travelling to face Liverpool, Lille, Brest, and Atalanta — last season’s Europa League winners — in the UEFA Super Cup.

Liverpool, back in the Champions League after a season away, will also face Milan and tournament debutants Girona. Anfield supporters will be especially eager to host German champions Bayer Leverkusen, coached by former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.

Manchester City, the 2023 champions under Pep Guardiola, will host Italian champions Inter Milan and travel to Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus. City also drew more favourable opponents, including Club Brugge, Sparta Prague, and Slovan Bratislava, who have yet to feature in the modern Champions League proper.

Other standout fixtures in the league phase include Bayern Munich taking on both PSG and Barcelona and Arsenal facing off against Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.

The Champions League has expanded from 32 to 36 teams, with participants seeded into four pots of nine for the draw. Each team will play two opponents from each pot, one at home and one away. The first matches are scheduled for September 17, 18, and 19, with two additional matchdays slated for January.

At the end of the league phase, the top eight teams will advance directly to the last 16, while teams ranked from ninth to 24th will enter a play-off round to determine the remaining eight spots in the knockout stage. The bottom 12 teams will be eliminated, with no clubs dropping into the Europa League as in previous formats.

The Europa League and the third-tier Conference League will also adopt the 36-team format, though the Conference League will feature only six matchdays in its league phase. Draws for these competitions are set for Friday.